


Pretiosissimum Donum Dei

by CabiriaMinerva



Category: All Souls Trilogy - Deborah Harkness
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Romance, bright born, post The Book of Life, post Time's Convert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-16 16:53:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21274535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CabiriaMinerva/pseuds/CabiriaMinerva
Summary: When Matthew can't seem to stop smiling, Diana knows he must be up to something. While trying to discover what, she discovers instead that love is inexhaustible and that her heart could never be too full.[Set after Time's Convert]





	Pretiosissimum Donum Dei

«What?» she asked, arching an eyebrow and narrowing her eyes.

«Mhmh?» he murmured, eyes slightly widening as if in surprise. He was the depiction of innocence, but she knew that something was going on. She just didn't know _what_, yet.

«What are you up to?» The book in her hands gently landed on her laps and she shifted on the recliner.

«Why ever would you think I was up to something, _mon coeur_? I'm just reading Miriam and Chris' report on the lab students' progresses.» Goddess, he could look so infuriatingly innocent when he wanted. Despite his centuries and his blood, when he was in such a mood he could've deceived even the most prejudiced human. But she was no human. And she knew her husband.

«You are up to something,» she stated, leaning forward and studying him. «You are smiling.»

It was his turn to arch an eyebrow. «Contrary to popular believe, I know how to smile. I seem to recall you witnessed many of my smiles in these years.»

«Ah ah, very funny. No, I mean that you've been smiling all morning. Even when Philip threw up his milk on your shoes.»

«It's just shoes,» he shrugged. «Although I must admit, the smell of gastric juices is always terrible.» His mouth crumpled into a grimace, but it didn't last long. That small smile that had been playing on his lips rapidly took over again.

«There, there it is again!» Diana jumps to her feet, a finger pointed toward his mouth and a triumphant expression on her face. «You _are_ up to something.»

«_I _ am certainly not the one up to something, _mon coeur._ » Matthew swiftly took advantage of her new position to stretch just a few inches, seize her pointing hand and pull her towards him until she fell on his laps. «But if you insist, _we _ could be up to a lot... Ysabeau and Marthe won't bring the twins back for at least another hour, and if your _Pretiosissimum Donum Dei_ doesn't satisfy you enough, maybe I could.» For a fraction of a second, his smile became mischievous, almost predatory, and Diana considered accepting his offering. His hands were already sliding down her back, her hips, finding the hem of her soft cachemire sweater and reaching for her warm skin. But she wouldn't give in before discovering what was going on in that beautiful head of his.

«I would love to take up on your offer, _husband_, but first I want to know what has you smiling like a fool.»

Matthew groaned and his hands reluctantly retreated. One arm slid behind her, as if to support her, while the other rested on her stomach. Over her sweater. Still, the smile was already back there.

«You sniffed the air,» she suddenly remembered. «You weren't there when I woke up, and when I came into the kitchen you smelled the air as if to verify something before announcing that Ysabeau and Marthe had decided to take the kids to the village.» The words under her skin moved faster now that her brain was operating at full speed to make sense of the memory. «Did something happen while I was asleep?» She moved her gaze on him, and noticed that he seemed pleased. So something was going on, he just wanted her to discover what by herself.

«Many things happened while you were sleeping, _ma lionne_. Would you like me to give you a report of the world's latest events?» he commented half jokingly before pecking her on the lips. When, in response, Diana tried to slap him on his arm, he took her hand in his and kissed the soft skin on her wrist. «Is that a no?»

«Why can't you just tell me _what_ it is?» She pouted, but he knew she wasn't really offended nor sad, just trying to cheat and get her answers.

«And take the fun out of it?» Matthew smirked.

«Aha! So something did happen!»

He brushed a lock of red hair out of her eyes in a tender gesture. Then sighed. He sounded... content. «It did.»

«When I was sleeping?»

«Absolutely _not_ when you were asleep.» There was a faint outrage in his voice. Diana frowned and the tips of the branches that peeked out from her hairline came closer together.

Then, the tips of his fingers stroked her stomach. It was barely noticeable, and she wouldn't have noticed it were it not for the magic that run under her skin.

And so, on her white mental table, she started to put all the pieces together.

He had _asked_ Ysabeau and Marthe to take the kids for the morning.

He had smelled the air when she had entered the kitchen.

He had smelled _her. _

He couldn't stop smiling, so much that he was beaming.

His fingers...

Her eyes widened and her gaze went down to his fingertips, then up to his smile, and up again, to those beautiful eyes. He wasn't just watching her, he was _adoring_ her. Drinking in her every little detail.

«Am I...?»

«You are, _mon coeur._» His grasp tightened just a fraction, just enough to let her feel all that he could not put into words.

«When did you...?» The emotions were almost overwhelming, but she knew that it didn't matter if her words trailed off, for he would always understand them, even those left unspoken.

«A week ago, you came back from a walk with the children and you smelled... different. At first I wasn't sure, there were so many scents on you: Philip, Becca, the grass, the dogs... But that night, after a shower, after we made love, you still smelled odd. You also smelled different from the other times, so I couldn't really know for sure, and I didn't want to give you false hopes.»

«So you didn't say anything. But today you were sure?»

«I was. I am,» he corrected himself. «I heard something while you were asleep, a throb. I think it was his newly formed heart learning how to work. So I left, asked my mother to take the children saying that I needed some time with my wife, and I waited until you woke. When you walked into the kitchen there was no mistaking it. Your scent had changed and the throbs became steadier, more regular by the hour.» The look on Matthew's face was one of pride, happiness and an almost imperceptible hint of fear.

«You heard a heart. Just the one?»

«Yes, but it is too soon to know, it still hasn't find the right rhythm, doesn't have the proper strength. I could arrange for an ultrasound to...»

«A heart,» she interrupted him. Her hand went to her stomach: it was still impossible to tell, but as soon as he had said the words, she had known. Now that she knew what to look for, she could already feel him (for this time, she thought Matthew might be right) growing. She thought about some signs she might have missed, sensations that she might have dismissed. Then Matthew's hand was on hers, and it was all that mattered.

«A new heart.» Her lips curled into a smile and she looked back at the book she had been reading only moments ago. _Pretiosissimum Donum Dei. _A precious gift from god (or goddess, if you asked Diana). How appropriate.

It was true, then, that love was inexhaustible and that one's heart could never be too full of it, they both thought, feeling their own hearts growing with every faint throb.


End file.
